BETHEL — Dr. John Beeble, 91, son of the late Anna and Andrew John Beeble Sr., formerly of Watervliet, N.Y., was born on March 19, 1922, in Watervliet, and died on March 2, 2014, in Bethel.

He was predeceased by his siblings, Mary Centrella, Irene Mokay and Andrew John Beeble Jr., as well as his wife of 59 years, the former Ida C. Rickey of Hudson, N.Y., who died Feb. 13, 2004. He is survived by his brother, retired Lt. Col. Peter Beeble of Melbourne, Fla. Dr. Beeble was the oldest of more than 300 living descendents of Maryna Sahchie Bybel who immigrated with her four children to America from Galicia, Austria, in 1893.

Dr. Beeble and his wife, Ida, had four children, Christine Lee Telischak of Belvedere, Calif., married to John Telischak, John Rickey Beeble of Boring, Ore., and his wife, Elaine Beeble, Timothy Reid Beeble of Bethel, and his wife, Valerie Lake Beeble, and Jason Paul Beeble of Odessa, Fla., and his wife, Kellie Beeble. They had eight grandchildren, Jessica Telischak Brierley of New York City, Nicholas Telischak M.D. of Menlo Park, Calif., Katherine Telischak of San Francisco, Calif., Matthew Rickey Beeble of Portland, Ore., Cybil Anne Beeble of Portland, Ore., Adam Beeble of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Ryan Beeble of Orlando, Fla., and Andrew John Beeble of Tallahassee, Fla. They had three great-grandchildren, Chloe Brierley, Tyler Brierley and Olivia Telischak.

Dr. Beeble graduated from Watervliet High School in 1940. He worked at Hamlie's Meat Market in Troy, N.Y., where the owner offered him a full-time manager position, which he declined to pursue his college education. He attended the Albany College of Pharmacy, Union University in Albany, N.Y. In 1942, he enlisted in the Navy College Training V-7 Program which was initiated by President Franklin Roosevelt in 1940. He was called into the naval service in 1943 and was stationed at Williamette University in Salem, Ore, where in 1944 he received his BA degree. He was then stationed at Bremerton Naval Hospital in Bremerton, Wash., and later at Albany Medical College. In 1945, he separated from the Navy but remained in the Reserves. He received his M.D. degree from the Albany Medical College in 1948. He completed his internship and residency in internal medicine at Waterbury Hospital in Waterbury.

Dr. Beeble was called to active duty in 1950 during the Korean War and was stationed at Charleston Naval Hospital in South Carolina, until he was transferred to the U.S. Air Force. He graduated from the School of Aviation Medicine at Randolph Field in San Antonio, Texas, as a flight medical examiner. He was then stationed at San Marcos Air Force Hospital in Texas as chief of professional services. Although being offered a promotion to major and a career in the Air Force by his commanding officer, he separated from the Air Force as a captain in 1952 to continue his quest to be a cardiologist.

Dr. Beeble completed his cardiac training in Boston, Mass., at the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital and Harvard Medical School in 1953. He began his practice of cardiology in Waterbury in 1953 where he was mentored by Dr. Jasper Smith, the only other cardiologist in Waterbury. Dr. Beeble was on the courtesy staff at Saint Mary's Hospital and on the attending staff of Waterbury Hospital.

Dr. Beeble was an old time doctor who made house calls in the middle of the night, often driving 20 miles to see an elderly patient in heart distress. In the pre-Medicare and pre-Medicaid days, he would charge $5 for house calls unless the patient did not have the money. In that case, his house call was free. Clearly, Dr. Beeble followed the wise advice of Dr. Smith, "Take care of the patients, and your bills will take care of themselves."

Dr. Beeble was active in the medical community serving on the Board of Governors of the New Haven County Medical Society and as a member of the Board of Censors. He was a member of the Home of Delegates at the Connecticut Medical Society. He was president of the Waterbury Area Heart Association in the 1960s. At Waterbury Hospital, he served as chief of cardiology and chairman of the Credentials Committee. He served as chief of staff of Waterbury Hospital in from 1981 to 1982.

After 34 years of practice in cardiology, in 1987 Dr. Beeble and his wife, Ida, retired in Pinehurst, N.C., and Lake Lure, N.C. In Pinehurst, he was a member of the Tin Whistles, the nation's oldest golf fraternity with 300 members that provide four-year college scholarships to needy students. In addition to golfing, he continued to enjoy gardening and fishing. Dr. Beeble's spinal disability caused him to cease golfing at the age of 80, but not before achieving three holes-in-one at Waterbury Connecticut's Western Hills Golf Course, Waterbury Country Club, and also at Pinehurst Country Club.

In 2003, Dr. and Mrs. Beeble moved to Odessa, Fla., and made their home with his son, Jason, and daughter-in-law, Kellie. In 2009, after the death of his wife, Dr. Beeble returned to Connecticut to live with his son, Timothy Beeble, and daughter-in-law, Valerie, in Bethel. He was a member of SS. Peter and Paul Eastern Orthodox Church in Bethel.

For his last four months, he lived at Cascades Assisted Living at Bethel Health Care where he received excellent care from the staff at Cascades, as well as from Masonicare At Home and Masonicare Hospice. While at Cascades, he enjoyed visits from his sons, daughter, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He had Thanksgiving in 2013 with his granddaughter, Jessica Telischak Brierley, her husband, Dan Brierley, and great-grandchildren at the home of Jim and Joan Brierley in Brewster, N.Y. He celebrated Christmas in 2013 with family at the Bethel home of son Timothy Beeble and his wife, Valerie.

Dr. Beeble died peacefully in his sleep from congestive heart failure, the disease for which he had spent a lifetime treating his patients. In May, there will be a funeral service for Dr. Beeble at St. Basil's Russian Orthodox Church, followed by a burial in St. Basil's Cemetery in Watervliet, N.Y. A memorial service for Dr. Beeble will be held 7 p.m. today at SS. Peter and Paul Eastern Orthodox Church, 93 Dodgingtown Road (Route 302), Bethel.

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Don Painter wrote on Mar 14, 2014 11:03 AM:

" My family wishes to thank Dr. Beeble for the years of care he gave to my father David Painter formerly of Middlebury. "